12.30.2009

A new twist on an old dull...

I've never been a fan of Jane Austen's novels. I don't dispute their literary value or their appeal to millions of readers, but I've always found them dull and lifeless, with equally lifeless characters.

But THIS version...! These are undead lifeless characters! I may have to check this one out!

22 comments:

Now this is just exactly contrary to what is being said that judge a book by its cover...how can one when the author is a literary person and the cover reflects the content and the content reflects opposite to what the author might have though of....quiet confused ...hmmleave it but whenever i browse through best sellers at sites like a1books.co.in, i go with the illustration in the front cover..rest comes next :) :) :)

I do like Jane Austen, although P&P is definitely not my fave...I'm sick of Mr. Darcy. What's so great about him, anyway?

But, I'm a literary nerd, and sometimes get testy when people try to "mess" with classic literature. However, who knows, this might be good (although I I'm reallly sick of zombies, werewolves, vampires, and any other mythical creature. Except mermaids, which are always cool). ________________________________________http://coverjunkie.blogspot.com/

I know a few people who've read them and gave them positive reviews, but they weren't fans of Austen, either. (Actually, one of them despises Austen with all the power he can muster, after being force-fed Emma in a lit class.)

I don't dispute their literary value or their appeal to millions of readers[...]"

I most certainly will. (I won't dispute their appeal to millions of readers, as her books keep selling; I'll just confess to being baffled entirely for the reasons.)

But to suggest Austen's books have "literary value" is a bit like saying "American Idol" is a deathless program for the ages. Just because a lot of people like something doesn't mean it's good, or a classic, or of lasting merit.

I'm not an Austen fan - I only like Sense & Sensibility and that's only because of the movie because Alan Rickman is a total studmuffin. Mmm - He can be my Dungeon Master any day.... Ahem - anyway, if P&P&Z is as poorly done as S&S&SM I'd stay away from it. I read the latter and it was really not all that good. Read like it was written by Ed Wood when what they needed was Tim Burton. Plus the whole HP Lovecraft/C'thullu thing is SO overdone that it's just tiresome.

Not that I have a problem with these novels. I'd love to see one where Erik, The Phantom Of The Opera, is a vampire hunter trying to save Christine from the evil blood drinking Raoul.

I got about halfway through P and P and Z and realized that it was a one off joke that had kinda fallen by the middle of the book. Then you're just reading P and P with maybe a zombie every fifty pages. I do love the cover, though!

I haven't read the second, also heard it was not as good as the first. I DID read this and enjoyed it ... as one reviewer said "it turns a great piece of literature into something you'd actually want to READ." Kind of a three-way melding of sorts -- English manners, undead monsters, and kung fu. Anyway, lots more fun that the original -- I fell asleep about a third through that one!

Monster rewrites of classic fiction are becoming big right now. I read it (mainly because of the cool cover too), but it was a struggle after the joke got old. Looking for more punishment, I also read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, which had much more original material and was a funnier read for me -- after a gentle sob for not having written these six figure commanding rewrites first!.

This cover actually immediately drew me in. I've got both books, and I like them both, though I personally like S&S&SM better. I think they're a great antidote to the oppressive weight of Austen mania.

David - Just because someone's a good writer doesn't mean you can't hate their books. If it doesn't appeal, it doesn't appeal no matter how great they are. Nor do you have to like someone just because they're popular. Lots of people like Barbara Streisand and I don't deny she's talented, but I'd still rather stab myself with a rusty fork then listen to her.

I got this book via interlibrary loan and, because our ILL department puts a huge sticker on the cover of the book, I didn't realize that she was missing half her face until I saw the cover in a review. THAT was a shocker.

For the most part, I enjoyed it - I found it more readable than the original, even though I don't think this version went quite far enough (it stuck too closely to the original, to the point that some bits didn't come across as being as logical and natural as others). I'm not a huge fan of Austen or P&P, but I enjoyed it well enough, and I thought that this book would probably appeal to those who liked the original, as well as those who hated it.

one of the things that makes this book so incredibly good is not just the zombies + austen mash-up. no, what makes this book so great is that the author clearly loves and respects the original austen story and characters. he builds his book around the original, honoring many of the situations with wonderful twists of humor and, yeah, lots of zombies.

I actually enjoyed this book - probably more so because I had never read Pride and Prejudice (or any other Jane Austen novel) so I had the enjoyment of the original text plus the zombie parts. Needless to say, I love zombie stories/movies/etc. and that's what attracted me to the book. I read another book by the same author that is much better and does a better job of mixing serious text in with a horror component: Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter. That book is very good and has a cool cover, too.

Search This Blog

Loading...

Just what, exactly, is Judge a Book by its Cover?

I worked in a public library. I saw literally thousands of books every week; the good, the bad, and the truly hideous. These are the covers from the latter category. Joining me (Maughta) is the ever-popular pinch hitter (and handy husband) DocTurtle.

Contact me!

Send me book pictures! Just say hi! I want to hear from YOU! judgeabook(at)yahoo(dot)com